Pushing the Envelope

1. Pushing the Envelope The Seattle Central Library

2. Background • In 1890, The Seattle Public Library was introduced by the Seattle city government. • On January 2, 1901, an early morning fire destroyed the Yesler Mansion, where the library was located. • The community pleaded for funds to rebuild the library at a new and permanent location. Andrew Carnegie, whom helped construct libraries across the country, donated $220,000 for the new building. • In 1902, the city purchased an undeveloped downtown block for $100,000 to become the new site of the library. • In August 1903, the city selected P.J. Weber of Chicago to design the building. • Construction began in 1905 and it opened in 1906.

3. Background • In 1956, the city began setting the stage for a new library to replace the “unsightly and inadequate” Central Library Carnegie. • The second Central Library opened on March 26, 1960. • By the 1990s, planning for library improvements were under way. • In November 1998, Seattle voters overwhelmingly approved a $196.4 million “Libraries for All” bond to build a new Central Library. • The Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas was chosen to design the latest Seattle Central Library

4. The Seattle Central Library’s goal was “to redefine/reinvent the library as an institution no longer exclusively devoted to the book - as an information store, where all media, new and old, are presented under a regime of new equalities. In an age when information can be accessed anywhere, it is the simultaneity of all media and the professionalism of their presentation and interaction, that will make the library new.” -Rem Koolhaas, Architect

5. An International Collaboration • Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Netherlands) • LMN Architects of Seattle • Arup Offices (Los Angeles, London, San Francisco, and New York) • Magnusson Klemenic Associates (Seattle)

6. Quick Facts • Opened May 23, 2004 • 12 Story Structure • covering 412,000 square feet • Divided into 5 overlapping platforms • $165.5 million project • Features a Glass-covered atrium • One of the largest structures certified by the US Green Building Council’s Leadership Energy and Environmental Design program

7. How the Design Evolved

8. The Five Platforms • The architects took into consideration the distinct functions and areas of the library and created these five platforms as boxes stacked upon each other: • Parking • Public Spaces • Information • Collections • Administration and Staff • The boxes were repositioned to provide better views and more light. • The administration section: east to face 5th Ave. & Mt. Rainer, • other main boxes: north to give views of Elliot Bay from the reading rooms. • Moving the upper floors created more natural light for the lower floors.

10. The Grid • Lateral force resisting system • In the early design the engineers attempted to create a column-free design to maximize space. • The grid was developed to make this possible. The mullions of the grid would be able to support the force of the structure. • During testing the grid showed very good in-plane strength to seismic forces. • This column-free design would have been very expensive so the final design called for several large columns between the platforms located behind the grid.

11. The Megatrusses • Protect the platforms from lateral movement by transferring gravity to the perimeter columns or internal trusses. • Because the seismic and gravity systems were separated into the grid and megatrusses, it enabled engineers to create a greater number of unobstructed views and maximize the amount of daylight.

12. The Footing • The building is founded upon spread footing of 30 square feetx 7.5 feet thick. • It is able to hold a pressure up to 10,000 pounds per square foot. • Under the stairway core there is a mat foundation of 44 feet x 65 feet. It descends the full height of the building. • There is a 28 feet wide combined footing that supports two shear walls and a column.

13. The Use of Glass • Engineers tried to find a glass that had a maximum transparency and balanced with occupants comfort levels with outside light. • They decided to use a high performance glazing on the sunlit facades to improve energy efficiency. A more transparent glazing was used on shaded facades to create more natural light. • The glazing system includes metal mesh in between two planes of glass. • 140,000 square feetof transparency glazing and skylights.

15. Energy Saving Benefits • To extract the full benefits of energy savings from the design the building’s light control system was designed with photocells that automatically shut off artificial lighting when the natural light level is adequate. • High velocity jet nozzles distribute conditioned air directly onto the buildings glazing to offset the facades heat gains and losses. • There are carbon-dioxide monitoring systems that shut off the air ventilation system when occupancy is low to save energy consumption.

16. Energy Saving Benefits • An atrium economizer cycle draws air from throughout the building to the top of the atrium to the outside. Thermal energy will be extracted and recovered through this cycle and used to precondition the atrium. • To conserve water the library is installed with low flow plumbing fixtures, a system for collecting storm water, and a landscape architecture program that emphasizes drought-tolerant plants and trees. • Rain water is collected from the roof, treated, and used to irrigate the buildings landscape.

17. Tour • For a virtual tour http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/library/

18. Questions?

19. Thank You Julianne Abe & Brandon Estrella HappyHolidays